Fastening device for mounting a frame in a wall opening

ABSTRACT

A fastening device for mounting a frame, for example a doorjamb, in a wall opening, wherein open-ended horizontal guide channel means are attached to the wall adjacent to said opening, and wherein the doorjamb has attached thereto stay means, such as staybolts which slidingly fit into said guide channel means. Adjustment screws are threaded into said stay means at both ends of said guide channel means and bear against the open ends of the guide channel means preferably through washers.

[ Feb. 15, 1972 1,348,721 8/1920 Ketteringham, .lr. A FRAME IN A WALL OPENING 2,893,070 7/1959 Gauthier...,............

3,482,365 12/1969 Emil Schmitt, 8702 Guntersleben, Germany FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Apr. 15, 1970 1,377,616 9/1964 France.................

313,299 6/ 1929 Great Britain... [211 APPL 28,969 107,530 11/1965 Norway Foreign Application prioriy m Primary ExaminerAlfred C. Perham Att0rneyMilton J. Wayne Apr. 23, 1969 19 20 604.3

[57] ABSTRACT .52/213, 49/505, 52/217,

52/713 A fastening device for mounting a frame, for example a door- E06b 1/24, 1506b l /60 jamb, in a wall opening, wherein open-ended horizontal guide 52/204 208 21 1 217 channel means are attached to the wall adjacent to said openi 49/505 ing, and wherein the doorjamb has attached thereto stay means, such as staybolts which slidingly fit into said guide channel means. Adjustment screws are threaded into said stay References cued means at both ends of said guide channel means and bear UNITED STATES PATENTS against the open ends of the guide channel means preferably through washers. 470,672 3/1892 Hartley................................52/215 X 1,179,597 4/1916 Zahner 12 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures United States Patent Schmi 541 FASTENING DEVICE FOR MOUNTING [72] Inventor:

[22] Filed:

[58] FieldofSearch..........................

ft 3 i 1 FASTENING DEVICE FOR MOUNTING A FRAME IN A WALL OPENING The present invention relates to a fastening device for mounting a frame in a wall opening, more specifically, for mounting a doorjamb or doorframe in a wall opening. The invention is especially useful in combination with prefabricated doorframes whereby the doorframe hardware is connected to cramp iron means attached to the wall such as a masonry wall, and wherein the cramp iron means have a length corresponding substantially to the width of the respective wall. The cramp iron means may be attached to the wall in any known manner. For example, the cramp iron means may have a U-shape with legs bent against the wall. The hardware of the frame structure comprises fasteners such as adjustment screws which grip into the frame hardware from both sides of the wall to adjustably connect the frame hardware to the cramp iron means.

In connection with prior art fastening means for installing prefabricated doorjambs it has been found to be disadvantageous that the two adjacent screws must be screwed simultaneously into the hardware from the outer sides of the wall so that always two workmen are required for the installation. Furthermore, heretofore it has been rather difficult and time consuming to insert the adjustment screws through slotted holes in the doorjamb hardware and into holding brackets prior to the doorjamb taking up its predetermined position in the door opening of the wall.

In view of the foregoing it is the main object ofthe invention to remove the outlined drawbacks.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to simplify the mounting or installation of frames such as prefabricated doorjambs in wall openings and to reduce the time required for installation.

Another object of the invention is to make the installation so simple that a single workman can perform the job.

According to the invention there is provided cramp iron means having a crosspiece which is shaped as channel guide and holding means extending toward the frame or doorjamb, for example, in the form of flanges of the crosspiece bent into a guide channel. The frame hardware means is formed as stay means, for example, as stay bolts in the shape of a mushroom or a button or as T-bars, preferably extending horizontally. The stay means grip or fit into the channel of the guide and holding means in such a manner that they are horizontally and vertically adjustable. Adjustment screws are provided by means of which the stay means are locked in the desired position whereby the heads of the adjustment screws bear against the lateral openings of said channels of the guide and holding means, said adjustment screws engaging respective threaded horizontal holes of the stay means.

The guide and holding means may be provided in the form of bars having a maximal length corresponding to the length of the crosspiece of said cramp iron means. It is also advantageous to provide the guide channel of the guide and holding means with a rectangular cross section and with a slot arranged in the channel wall facing the frame. Preferably the slot extends entirely through the holding and guide means approximately along the center of said wall facing the frame whereby the slot should have a width correspondingto about 1.5 to 2.0 times the width ofa shank ofsaid stay means such as a staybolt.

According to the invention there are further provided spacer means which are insertable from the outer sides of the wall. The spacer means may be provided in the form of washers, disks or shims having a V-shape or in the form of wedges. In any event, the spacer means permit the horizontal adjustment of the door frame or jamb in the plane of the door. The spacer means are located adjacent to the channel wall which is provided with said slot, said spacer means either being inserted into the channel itself or the spacer means may be located outside the channel.

In the embodiment in which the stay means in the form of staybolts or T-bars have a shank it is advantageous that the shank has a length corresponding to the width of the channel wall adjacent to the slot plus the thickness of said spacer means.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood it will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. I shows a horizontal, sectional view through one embodiment of a fastener according to the invention as well as through the adjacent wall and frame members;

FIG. 2 illustrates on an enlarged scale a perspective view of a frame mounting member as shown in section in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view along line AA in FIG. I; and

FIG. 4 illustrates on an enlarged scale a spacer member which functions as a clamping or locking member also shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. I shows a frame fastener such as a doorjamb fastener according to the invention after the doorjamb 2 or frame has been fastened to the masonry 4 or to the plaster 5. More specifically, FIG. I shows the cooperation of the individual members of the present fastening means. The doorjamb 2 has a stop shoulder 6 for the door proper (not shown). Hinge means 60 are also illustrated to facilitate the understanding of FIG. 1.

A central bore 7 is provided in a crosspiece lb of a cramp iron 1 for installing these cramp irons in predetermined positions in the masonry 4 with the aid of a known installing gauge.

A guide and holding bar 8 forming a channel is attached to said crosspiece lb, as by welding or forming an integral part thereof, to extend in parallel to said crosspiece. Said guide and holding bar 8 preferably has a rectangular cross section and is open at its ends. Further the bar 8 is provided with a slot 3 extending the entire length of the bar 8 and located about in the center of the bar. The slot 3 faces the doorjamb 2, see especially FIG. 3. For the sake of simple construction the guide and holding bar 8 may be produced in practice by respective bending of side flanges provided along the crosspieces Ib. Stated differently, the bar 8 and the crosspiece may be constructed as an integral unit.

Frame hardware means are attached to the doorframe or jamb in positions or at points which are predetermined by the installation height of the cramp irons I. Said frame hardware means may comprise, as shown in FIG. 2, stay means in the form of staybars or staybolts 9 having a mushroom or button shape and attached to plates 10 which in turn are fastened to the doorjamb, preferably flush therewith. The staybolts 9 and plate 10 may be formed as in integral structure or the stay means may be directly fastened, as by threading, to the side of the frame thereby omitting the plate 10. Instead of the staybolts it is possible to use a T-bar or similar means not shown which will fit into the channel of bar 8.

When mounting or installing the doorframes, these staybolts 9 are attached to the cramp irons 1 which have been fastened previously in the masonry or rather the staybolts 9 are attached to the guide and holding bars 8 of these cramp irons l by laterally inserting the staybolts 9 into the channel formed by said guide and holding bars 8, more specifically, into the slot 3 thereof. Thereafter the staybolts 9 are fastened by means of adjusting or setscrews 11 which grip or fit into threaded holes 12 of the staybolts 9. The threaded holes 12 extend horizontally through the heads of the staybolts 9 when the latter are attached, for example, through plates 10 and screws, to the frame 2.

The slot 3 in the guide and holding bars 8 corresponds, as may be seen in FIG. 3, to about 1.5 to 2.0 times the neck or shank width or diameter b of the staybolt 9. Moreover, the head 9a of the staybolt 9 fills the hollow space or channel in the guide and holding bar 8 only partially. Therefore, the door frame 2 is vertically shiftable or adjustable after the lateral or horizontal insertion of the staybolts 9 into the guide and holding bars 8. After such adjustment the doorframe is lockable in the desired or final position within the guide and holding bars 8 by means of said adjustment screws 11 which upon tightening are under mutual but opposite tensile stress.

The adjustment or positioning of the door frame 2 in the horizontal direction is accomplished by means of the adjustment screws 11 by threading in the screws located opposite each other to different extents.

in order to compensate for tolerances in the overall horizontal clearance of the door opening or in the overall width of the doorframe, shims 13 in the form of U-shaped washers or similar means are inserted in the channel from the outside of the wall. These washers may, as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 4, be located around the shank of the staybolts 9. The spacing between the doorframe 2 and the masonry 4 is adjustable due to the fact that the shims 13 may be placed in parallel to and in contact with the guide and holding bars 8, either on the inside of the channel as shown in FIG. 3, or on the outside of the channel but in any event adjacent to the channel wall which is interrupted by the slot 3.

The heads 14 of the adjustment screws 11 rest through washers 15 or disks or the like as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 against the lateral openings or rather against the lateral edges of the guide and holding bars 8.

Subsequent to the installation of the doorframe usual moldings 16 are used to cover the small gap between the masonry and the doorframe, please see FIG. 1.

By providing according to the invention, the cramp irons in the form of guide and holding bars 8 and by shaping the doorframe hardware correspondingly the installation and fastening of the prefabricated doorframe has been substantially simplified, especially since at least one of the adjustment screws 11 may be screwed in even prior to the insertion of the doorframe or of the hardware into the cramp irons. Thereafter the doorframe may be properly adjusted whereby independent adjustments in three directions are available.

Since the doorframe is mounted or installed by inserting the hardware into the guide bars, it is, so to speak, mounted by hanging. Hence, ail mounting steps can be performed by one worker rather than by two workers as heretofore. The insertion of the adjustment screws does not pose any difficulties and may be performed quickly since the members to be screwed together are approximately fixed in their position relative to each other.

The hardware according to the invention may also be used with slight, immaterial modifications for mounting any other frames in openings, for example window frames in a respective opening in a building. The doorframes as well as the window frames may be made of wood, synthetic materials, metal or the like or of combinations of these materials.

Furthermore, neither the shape of the staybolts nor the shape of the bar 8 are limited to the embodiments shown. Especially the cross section of the guide channel is not limited to the rectangular shape shown. Rather, any matching shapes may be used, for example, the staybolt head 90 may have a spherical shape to fit into a guide channel having a round cross section. The present fastening means are also not limited to door or window frames, nor is the attachment to masonry es sential. Rather, the cramp irons may be attached to studs or any other means defining an opening in a structure.

it will also be appreciated that the invention is not limited to attaching the guide channel means to the cramp irons and the stay means to the frame hardware. The same result will be obtained by attaching the guide channel means to the frame hardware or forming the guide channel means as an integral structure with the frame hardware, and attaching the stay means to the cramp irons or forming the stay means and cramp irons as an integral structure.

Accordingly, it is intended to cover within the scope of protection all modifications and equivalents within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A fastening device for mounting a frame in an opening in wall means having a given thickness, comprising: cramp iron means attached to said wall means adjacent to said opening, frame hardware means attached to said frame, guide and holding means with guide channel means therein having open ends, stay means arranged for cooperation with said guide channel means, said stay means having a shank with a given width and length and a head shaped to fit into said guide channel means for horizontal and vertical adjustment. longitudinal slot means in said guide and holding means ad acent to said channel means in which slot means said shank can freely glide, adjustable fasteners reaching into said channel means from each end of the channel means, and means for connecting the fasteners to said stay means.

2. The fastening device according to claim I, wherein said cramp iron means-comprise a crosspiece having a length corresponding substantially to said given thickness of the wall means, said channel means extending through said guide and holding means and corresponding in length substantially to the length of said crosspiece.

3. The fastening device according to claim I, wherein said guide channel in the guide and holding means has a substantially rectangular cross section, said longitudinal slot means in the guide and holding means extending the entire length of said guide and holding means and facing said frame.

4. The fastening device according to claim 3, wherein said longitudinal slot means has a width corresponding to about I .5 to 2.0 times said given shank width.

5. The fastening device according to claim I, further comprising spacer means of given width located adjacent to said longitudinal slot means of said guide and holding means for adjusting the horizontal spacing between said frame and said wall means.

6. The fastening device according to claim 5, wherein said spacer means are inserted in said channel means adjacent to said longitudinal slot means.

7. The fastening device according to claim 5, wherein said given shank length of said stay means corresponds to the spacer width plus the thickness of said guide and holding means adjacent to the longitudinal slot means.

8. The fastening device according to claim 1, wherein said stay means is a T-bar.

9. The fastening device according to claim 1, wherein said adjustable fasteners are threaded bolts, and wherein said connecting means are threaded holes in said stay means, each threaded bolt having a head bearing against said open channel ends, preferably through washers.

10. The fastening device according to claim 2, wherein said crosspiece of the cramp iron and said guide and holding means are formed as an integral structure.

11. The fastening device according to claim 1, wherein the guide and holding means are attached to the cramp iron means and the stay means are attached to said frame hardware means.

12. The fastening device according to claim 1, wherein the guide and holding means are attached to said frame hardware means and the stay means are attached to the cramp iron means. 

1. A fastening device for mounting a frame in an opening in wall means having a given thickness, comprising: cramp iron means attached to said wall means adjacent to said opening, frame hardware means attached to said frame, guide and holding means with guide channel means therein having open ends, stay means arranged for cooperation with said guide channel means, said stay means having a shank with a given width and length and a head shaped to fit into said guide channel means for horizontal and vertical adjustment, longitudinal slot means in said guide and holding means adjacent to said channel means in which slot means said shank can freely glide, adjustable fasteners reaching into said channel means from each end of the channel means, and means for connecting the fasteners to said stay means.
 2. The fastening device according to claim 1, wherein said cramp iron means comprise a crosspiece having a length corresponding substantially to said given thickness of the wall means, said channel means extending through said guide and holding means and corresponding in length substantially to the length of said crosspiece.
 3. The fastening device according to claim 1, wherein said guide channel in the guide and holding means has a substantially rectangular cross section, said longitudinal slot means in the guide and holding means extending the entire length of said guide and holding means and facing said frame.
 4. The fastening device according to claim 3, wherein said longitudinal slot means has a width corresponding to about 1.5 to 2.0 times said given shank width.
 5. The fastening device according to claim 1, further comprising spacer means of given width located adjacent to said longitudinal slot means of said guide and holding means for adjusting the horizontal spacing between said frame and said wall means.
 6. The fastening device according to claim 5, wherein said spacer means are inserted in said channel means adjacent to said longitudinal slot means.
 7. The fastening device according to claim 5, wherein said given shank length of said stay means corresponds to the spacer width plus the thickness of said guide and holding means adjacent to the longitudinal slot means.
 8. The fastening device according to claim 1, wherein said stay means is a T-bar.
 9. The fastening device according to claim 1, wherein said adjustable fasteners are threaded bolts, and wherein said connecting means are threaded holes in said stay means, each threaded bolt having a head bearing against said open channel ends, preferably through washers.
 10. The fastening device according to claim 2, wherein said crosspiece of the cramp iron and said guide and holding means are formed as an integral structure.
 11. The fastening device according to claim 1, wherein the guide and holding means are attached to the cramp iron means and the stay means are attached to said frame hardware means.
 12. The fastening device according to claim 1, wherein the guide and holding means are attached to said frame hardware means and the stay means are attached to the cramp iron means. 